AFRICA AGRICULTURE STATUS REPORT 2016

in only three countries: Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Figure 9.1 shows the research funds in real dollar value
availed to the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (now
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Institute—
KALRO) over the last 15 years. An increase in research
fund allocation from the Kenya Government was indeed
apparent from 2004, but this has since tapered off to a
plateau of around US$27 million per year. Correspondingly,
the food production index also registered a marked increase
from around 2004 perhaps due to a KARI/KALRO mediated
adaptation and adoption of new technologies (e.g.,
developed by the CGIAR) by farmers.
Figure 9.1. Research funding
(US$ billions)
The Africa agricultural productivity programs (i.e. WAAPP,
EAAPP, and APPSA) have provided another funding avenue
for AR4D in Africa. Administered through the World Bank’s
Adaptable Program Loan (APL), the productivity programs—whose
design is based on the FAAP principles and the AKIS paradigm—
have directly facilitated implementation of agricultural policies of
RECs (ECOWAS, COMESA, and SADC) and, more specifically,
the NAIPs of participating countries. Based on World Bank reports,
nearly 20 countries in SSA have benefited from a total of US$441
million to date in support of AR4D through the WAAPP, EAAPP and
APPSA (World Bank, 2012) as shown in Table 9.2.
Notwithstanding the apparent growth in AR4D spending over the
last decade, the SSA AR4D intensity ratio (measure of total public
AR4D spending as a percentage of agricultural GDP) has steadily
declined from 0.59 percent in 2006 to 0.51 percent in 2011, far
below the 1 percent recommended by the AU (Beintema & Stads,
2014). A common feature in many SSA countries is that the bulk of
funds allocated to agriculture goes into recurrent expenditure (e.g.,
staff salaries) rather than research execution. Thus, the share
allocation to AR4D has not been commensurate with agricultural
output. In Ethiopia, for example, agriculture contributed nearly 45
percent of the national GDP in 2011, yet the government allocated
a paltry 0.19 percent of its agricultural GDP to research, the lowest
amongst 10 comparing countries. In contrast, Swaziland, where
agriculture contributes only 8 percent of GDP, allocated 1.43 percent
of agricultural GDP to research (Figure 9.2). Obviously, there
are idiosyncratic circumstances that dictate budgetary allocation
in various countries and funding of agricultural research is least
determined by reciprocal sector contribution to the economy.
Agricultural research can be a protracted enterprise (e.g., breeding
programs can take decades for any returns to investments to
be demonstrated) and therefore requires sustained funding and
some patience. However, AR4D funding in many SSA countries
has exhibited high volatility over the last decade chiefly due to
high dependence on external donors (Stads, 2012) and vacillating
government priorities. African partners, unable to fund their own
AR4D, often sacrifice their strategic interests at the altar of donor
aid. Indeed, the multi-donor trust funds managed by the World
Food production index in Kenya
Source: Personal Communications,
Director General, KALRO
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